Samsung updates its midrange Galaxy A series with water and dust resistance, improved camera

Samsung has announced the latest iterations of its Galaxy A smartphone series — midrange devices that offer similar looks to the company’s premium Galaxy S range, while saving costs with slower specs. The new Galaxy A3, A5, and A7 (which are differentiated from last year’s models only by their “2017”) follow this playbook without any deviation. Each model has the curved metal frame, oval home-button-and-fingerprint-scanner, and glass back familiar from the Galaxy S7, but in terms of innards, you won’t find more than 32GB of internal storage and a 1.9GHz processor. 

As in previous years, the handsets in the A series are differentiated primarily by screen size. The A7 is the biggest, with a 5.7-inch 1080p display, followed by the A5 (5.2-inch, also 1080p) and the A3 (4.7-inch, 720p). The two larger devices have the aforementioned 1.9GHz processor and 32GB internal storage, as well as 3GB of RAM, while the littlest child, the A3, has to make do with 2GB of RAM, 16GB of storage, and a 1.6GHz processor. 

For 2017, all three devices get a shiny new USB Type-C port, while the larger two phones have also been gifted with Samsung’s Fast Charge technology. Samsung’s main promise for the new A series is that it improved the cameras, with 16-megapixel lenses on the front and rear of the A7 and A5 which the company says feature improved autofocus and low-light performance. As ever with cameras, those claims will have to be tested in the field. All three phones also include IP68 certification for water and dust resistance — a welcome addition for the midrange. 

Samsung says the handsets will be available in Russia first this month, before expanding to other European markets. Pricing has yet to be announced.

The article was published on : theverge